• THE fact that there is still a debate over whether private schools should get tax breaks thanks to their charity status ­only serves to illustrate how stuck we are in a mindset that protects the small elite who have firmly clung onto power in our country, notwithstanding a much-vaunted commitment to equality of opportunity and votes for all.

The number of state-educated pupils who, against all the odds, match the achievements of the
hot-housed minority shows what an ocean of talent is overlooked and wasted.

KW HOWARTH, NW1